In the past, plastic mirrors have been disclosed in the art, but none have been designed nor are practical to be specifically carried and stored in a man's or woman's credit card pocket. Many plastic mirrors available in the art also contain indicia or logos on the mirrored surface, which interferes with the image in the mirror. In addition, the unreflective surface that prior art mirrors commonly provide is generally inadequate for the retention and/or presentation of indicia.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,389 to Stiller discloses a combination of a mirror and transparent case, and specifically teaches the application of desired indicia to the transparent case. U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,292 to Mcintosh discloses magnetic and/or adhesive fixing means contained on the back surface of a mirror, and specifically teaches the application of desired indicia to the mirrored surface.
The structure disclosed in the mirrors described in the above prior art patents with respect to the mirror and case and magnetic and/or adhesive backing means, are unsuitable for storage and carrying in a credit card pocket. Credit card pockets often contain bank cards, and credit cards that have a sensitive magnetic strip that could be ruined by the magnet contained on the back of the mirror such as taught by the Mcintosh patent. This would render this type of mirror unsuitable for use with or around other wallet cards. Mcintosh also describes his mirror as being made out of a suitable plastic such as an acrylic. Acrylic, however, is a very brittle plastic, and when its breaking point is reached, its fracture will create very sharp corners and edges which can become projectiles which could injure the user of the mirror. This type of risk is unacceptable for the user of a mirror that has to withstand wallet bending, inserting, pulling out and the flexing from normal use and user curiosity. Mcintosh does not address or teach the need for his mirror to snap back to original position after being repeatedly bent. It is apparent that the Mcintosh mirror will be attached to the surface of a wall, locker or the like so it does not need to have the ability to snap back to its original position. However, if a credit card pocket mirror does not snap back repeatedly, the image quality will be degraded, ruining the entire mirror. Furthermore, Mcintosh is not concerned with the size of his mirror.
Credit cards have a very standard size, and wallets have been designed to accommodate this size, and even a small mirror close to this size such as 4 inches by 4 inches will not fit into a credit card pocket. Furthermore, the prior art is not concerned about the thickness of their plastic mirrors. In the space of a credit card pocket, thickness is especially important since this mirror will be competing for space with other credit and bank cards. Mcintosh teaches using a magnetic strip and adhesive strip. These features take up an enormous amount of room in the tight confines of a credit card pocket in a wallet. Further evidence that Mcintosh does not have this use in mind is that he does not address the sharpness of the corners of the mirrors by either rounding or beveling them off. A mirror that is to slide in an out of a small credit card pocket needs to have rounded corners or it will catch on the walls of the credit card pocket. Also rounding the corners will allow the mirror to be safely handled by the user. Mcintosh also does not address the fact that plastic mirrors are very soft, and in the crowded confines of a wallet, the reflective surface can easily be scratched, which would call for a need for a scratch or abrasion resistant surface or coating to protect the all important reflective surface. Furthermore, Mcintosh teaches applying indicia to the reflective surface of the mirror which interferes with the reflected image. And at the same time, Mcintosh does not provide a backing that would allow indicia to be printed on it. Mcintosh only concerns himself with an enamel coating to protect the mirror. Enamel coatings do not effectively hold ink. Only a special type of enamel coating will allow ink to be printed on it effectively, and that is an enamel that does not contain a surfactant. But even though the ink will hold to the enamel, the enamel itself can easily be scraped off with something as common as a fingernail, raised lettering of another credit card, a coin, or car keys resulting in the degradation and/or destruction of the indicia. Furthermore, the enamels that are used on the back of the most prior art mirrors are almost always a dull gray which is not especially pleasing to the eye. Therefore, it is clear that Mcintosh never intended for indicia to effectively be applied to the back of a mirror, or for that matter for the mirror to be carried in a credit card pocket.
Stiller's mirror also is unsuitable for storage in a credit card pocket. Stiller relies on a pouch to protect the mirror against scratching. Therefore, if this pouch is lost or discarded, the mirror will be scratched, and in the crowded confines of a credit card pocket, the mirror will soon be degraded to a point where it will become useless. This pouch plus mirror is significantly bulkier to carry around in a wallet than a mirror that can be discretely stored in a credit card pocket. Furthermore, Stiller does not disclose any particular type of material for the mirror body. As previously discussed, certain materials like glass and acrylic are susceptible to breaking and shattering. The selection of the material for the body of the mirror is very important because a mirror carried in the wallet will be in intimate contact with the user. Stiller never mentions a need for this mirror to be shatter proof. Furthermore, Stiller never mentions a need for rounded corners which promote safe handling and ease of storage. Stiller also never addresses the need for the mirror to have a certain degree of flexibility and elasticity which are important properties for a mirror that will be hand held and flexed in a wallet. Most plastics do not have the elasticity or the ability to snap back to the original flat position after being bent repeatedly, and when looking into a mirror, even a very slight bend will be noticeable to the eye. Therefore, a plastic with this property must be used, or alternatively a plastic that includes structural means to enable it to have the necessary snap back characteristics. Stiller relies on the pouch to cushion a blow or shock to the mirror, but if the pouch is lost, then the mirror could severely be damaged. Stiller also mentions putting indicia on the pouch and not the back of the mirror. So if the pouch is lost, then the indicia is also lost. This type of risk is not very appealing to a business man who has bought space on the pouch for his advertising. Stiller fails to disclose a backing that can effectively provide for indicia. It is therefore apparent that Stiller never intended for this mirror to be stored in a credit card pocket, and that he never intended for indicia to be applied on the unreflective surface. Furthermore, men would have a tendency not to use a mirror of the type disclosed by Stiller. Our society dictates that men should not be overly concerned about their appearance, and if a man pulled out this type of mirror with a pouch to go with it, he might appear to be feminine.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a portable flexible, scratch resistant, shatter resistant mirror, with the ability to snap back to is original position after repeated bending, and which is conveniently designed and sized to fit anywhere a credit card be stored. At the same time the mirror provides an unreflective surface which will provide room for a miniature billboard. The inherent aesthetic characteristics and value of the mirror will be unexpectedly increased as a result of the features of the above described combination.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a shatter resistant mirror that can be discretely concealed and carried in any standard credit card pocket and which has enough elasticity to snap back to its original position after repeated flexing. The mirror further provides added commercial value and significantly improved aesthetic qualities through an unreflective surface that allows indicia to be adhered or printed on it.
A preferred size for the mirror of the present invention is a width of 21/8 and a length of 33/8 inches. However, the majority of credit card pockets will support a mirror having a width size range between 17/8 and 21/4 inches, and the length size range between 31/4 and 35/8 inches. A size falling in the range will fit the majority of wallets. Some wallets have unusually large credit card pockets and can accommodate a width of between 17/8 and 3 inches, and a length between 31/4 to 33/4 inches. The mirror will also crease before it creates sharp edges by fracturing, thus damaging rather than potentially hurting the user and should have continuous straight lines, lacking any notching or indentation.